You can find homes in the $300,000 range in the outer metro and the IE.. might not be the best neighborhoods but they do exist. But you said rents average $3k and above which isn't true. Yes there's are $3k and higher rents in LA depending on where you stay but this is not the starting off point for the entire region.Further Inland you're not going to find a house under the high 300k-400K mark. Im originally from the I.E, and the average family home you won't touch for under the mid 400k. That is by no means cheap. If you don't believe me, just go on zillow, redfin, or just look up the real estate prices for those areas. And we're talking about LA, not so much the Inland areas.